It’s the kind of series that used to spark road trips, fill ferries, and paint Seattle’s T-Mobile Park blue and white – but this year, Blue Jays fans from Victoria are changing course.
Toronto and Seattle are set to clash May 9-11 in their annual American League showdown, but the buzz along the South Island is unusually quiet. What’s long been a summer staple for Canadian baseball fans is now caught in the crossfire of politics, economics and protest.
Last July, the Jays and Mariners played three games at T-Mobile Park, drawing an average attendance of 35,880 – more than 4,000 higher than Seattle’s home-game average over the 2024 season. The stadium holds 47,493, and when Toronto comes to town, it’s often treated like a second Canadian home.
This year could look a lot different.
Thousands of tickets remain unsold for all three games, and the signs of a shift are showing well before first pitch. Fewer than 100,000 passenger vehicles crossed from B.C. into Washington in April – less than half of the 200,000 recorded in April 2024, according to transportation authorities on both sides of the border.
For many on the Island, the decision to stay home is about more than just baseball.
“What hurts the most out of all of this is the fact that this isn’t going to be a year-one pause – it’s not going to change until things are changed,” said Jordan Menning, a Victoria resident who made the Seattle trip an annual tradition. “Yeah, a couple hundred dollars from my friends and I doesn’t sound like a lot, but if Canadians unify, it will make a difference.”
Menning usually travels with a group of close friends. The ferry, hotel, and baseball tradition was rooted in routine and national pride.
“Not that we can’t watch games together at home, or travel to Toronto, but it feels like things shouldn’t have got to this point,” he said. “I want to go, they want to go, but we know, right now, we can’t.”
At the heart of the shift is a rocky economic landscape. The Canadian dollar has slipped to just $0.72 USD, which means everything from gas to game-day hot dogs costs more. Despite ticket prices listed as low as $25.50 CAD, the full cost of a cross-border trip adds up fast.
Then there’s the political climate. Recently reimposed tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump have stirred a broader boycott movement among Canadians, with many saying they won’t spend money south of the border until the trade war ends.
According to the U.S. Travel Association, Canada is the United States’ top source of international visitors. In 2024 alone, Canadians made 20.4 million visits, spending $20.5 billion and supporting 140,000 American jobs. A 10 per cent dip in Canadian travel could mean 2 million fewer visits and $2.1 billion in lost spending.
For some, like longtime Jays supporter Tammy-Lee Colter, the decision wasn’t made lightly. Her family usually alternates between seeing the team in Toronto or Seattle every couple of years. This year was supposed to be Seattle’s turn.
“Proximity-wise, it would make sense to cheer for the Mariners,” she said. “But being Canadian means being unified in a sense.”
Colter says the community of Jays fans that takes over downtown Seattle each year is more than just a travelling fan base – it’s a display of identity.
“It usually leads to big high-fives and cheers as we walk by – a sign of national pride,” she said. “We’re making this decision to not go based on doing what we think is right, for all Canadians.”
Not everyone, however, is staying home.
John Langdon has been going to Seattle for as long as he can remember – and that won’t change this year.
“I look forward to this trip every year. We missed it in 2020 because of the pandemic, but that might be the only thing stopping me from going again,” Langdon said. “I understand why some people are against it, but one way or another, things need to stay normal – and for us, it’s going.”
Seattle leads the AL West at 22–14, while Toronto sits third in the East with a 16–20 record. But for many fans, the standings aren’t what’s keeping them away.
For now, baseball remains on the schedule – but for thousands of British Columbians, it’ll be watched from a distance, with barbecues and living rooms replacing ballpark bleachers. The cheers will still come – just not from across the border.
